Wawrinka slams Pique for empty seats at Davis Cup in angry tweet

talksport.com, 12 September 2023, 16:16

Stanislas Wawrinka fumed at ex-Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique following a poor turnout at Switzerland Davis Cup clash with France.

The tie takes place in Manchester this week and despite both nations providing strong teams, only a handful of people have so far shown up.

A disappointed Wawrinka has pointed the finger of blame at Pique due to his involvement with the Kosmos Group who helped revamp the competition in 2018.

Pique is the face of the Kosmos Group that changed the format of the Davis Cup in 2019 by removing home and away ties in favour of an end-of-season World Cup-style event with the final set to take place in November.

The deal was worth a reported £2.5billion and had been set to run for 25 years but flailing interest has put a dampener of the prestigious competition.

As a result, Wawrinka believes the changes have had a negative effect on the competition and the attendances.

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The world No. 40 tweeted to show how few people had shown up to the event, writing: "Thank you Gerard Pique and ITF! France vs. Switzerland in Manchester." His tweet also contained an angry face emoji.

However, Wawrinka might not have to wait long for Davis Cup interest to return after the International Tennis Federation ended their association with Kosmos in January after just five years.

Despite the premature end, the format will remain for this year but changes are anticipated for next year's event.

"The ITF can confirm that its partnership with Kosmos Tennis for Davis Cup is ending in its fifth year," an ITF statement read.

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"The ITF negotiated a strong deal for tennis in 2018.

"The partnership increased participation, prize money and interest in Davis Cup and produced funding to support the global development of our sport."

Read full version: https://talksport.com/football/1564110/stan-wawrinka-blasts-gerard-pique-davis-cup-angry-tweet/

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